Down spent 27 years with major league clubs and most notably was a hitting coach for the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles from 1993 to 2003. Although he topped out in Triple-A as a player, Down was well-loved as a coach while overseeing some of the top offenses of the past 30 years.

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Before becoming a major-league hitting coach, Down managed the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus from 1990-92, which eventually fed into the dynastic mid-’90s teams. He helped lead the Clippers to three straight division titles and a team-record 95 wins in 1995, while coaching the likes of Bernie Williams, Brad Ausmus, J.T. Snow and Deion Sanders.